I was wondering if the Redding Ultra seater is worth the extra money over the Forester Benchrest seaters? I hear the Redding will give less runout. Is this true?? I have four different Forester Benchrest seaters and I am not overly impressed. Bullet runout is no less than standard dies.

What is your experience?

Jamie

Jamie, I have both seater dies and IMO the Redding has a higher quality machine finish that is obvious when holding them both in my hand. Both have improved accuracy in my loads which can be measured on target. I do not have the equipment to measure run out, but suspect both seaters have reduced it; as well as enabling me to adjust seating depth easier and with greater accuracy. The Redding did seem to be easier to set up on the initial use.

I have both but far more Forsters than the one Redding I have. There isn't much difference in their function and the finished product but I agree the Redding has the look and feel of a precision tool, slightly prettier than the Forster, but the end result is equal. Forster has started painting the micrometer graduations which isn't as nice as they used to be but they both do the same thing equally well.

I have both Forster ultra and the corresponding Redding die. I prefer the Forster. Everything about the Forster die is smooth and I like the fine pitch thread that gives .025" of adjustment per turn. The Redding die feels gritty and rough in the adjustment even after I took it apart and cleaned it.

My only complaint about the Forster is that they will not make a 6mm Ackley Improved case holder for me.

Thanks everyone for the input!

I am wondering why my runout numbers are so high?

I am using good equipment(coax press) and have tried every trick in the book.

Any ideas?

Jamie

What's the RO on the necks before you seat the bullets, is that where the problem is at?

You could have one of several problems, including bad dies or bad brass.

First measure the neck wall variance in your brass. You need a ball tubing mike for that but calipers will get you in the ballpark. If your neck walls vary more than about .0015" in thickness, when you seat a bullet it can be seated askew.

Try sizing a case without the expander ball first, then check the runout on the neck. If it's off, then you have a bad die. Before you do anything about that try taking the lock ring off the die, reverse it and put it back on the die. Sometimes the threads don't mate well which then sits the die crooked in the boss. Size another case, and if it's still off it's likely the die. Sometimes after they are cut and heat treated, the heat treatment warps them.

If your dies and lock rings are straight, the problem is likely in your brass or your seating method. Conventional seaters don't hold the bullet straight consistently when going into the brass. Many of them contact the bullet at the meplat rather than on the ogive. In that case your competition seater will help, but even there the seating button must mate with your choice of bullets and that also is not always the case.

Bob,

Do you know where I can get different seater plugs for the Wilson hand dies and the Reddings also? We've been shooting various VLD's and these standard seater plugs are far from a good match for these long ogives.

I'm sure I've seen optional seater plugs somewhere, just can't find 'em now.

Brent,

You can contact Sinclair or go directly to the manufacturer. I've never had too much of a problem with concentricity in terms of the seating die. I start to seat the bullet, rotate it about a half turn then finish the job. Recently I've started switching over to the Wilson knock out dies. Boy, what a diference. I think they're worth every penny, very concentric indeed. Like most of us, I dread that damn expander ball in sizing dies. Best wishes.

Cal - Montreal

Brent~
I know at least RCBS used to provide a seater plug for their dies, free if you sent them the bullet. I'm pretty sure both Redding and Wilson will do the same thing. I don't know of any other source, nor have I ever seen them advertised.

Thanks Cal, thanks Bob! Sinclair said the seater for the Wilson dies is what you get, and it's better than they used to be. I'll be calling some more until I find some, or I'll do them myself if I have to.

[ 10-24-2003, 15:10: Message edited by: Brent Moffitt ]